Jeannette Kitlan first became involved in fashion for a very simple reason: she wanted to make her own clothes.

"When I was young I was always very tall, so if I wanted clothes that fit me properly I had to make them myself," Ms. Kitlan said. "I found out that I loved it. From then on, all I wanted to do was to go into fashion."

Ms. Kitlan now runs her own fashion-related store, Endless Mountains Quiltworks in Tunkhannock. The store contains 5,000 bolts of fabric from which people can choose their quilt designs. Ms. Kitlan also has several quilts on display in her shop, some of them made by her and some made by proud patrons who loan her their quilts as a sign of thanks.

The business also offers four quilting classes a week and has clubs that meet in the store, she said.

"We have 2,600 people on our email list and we market within a two-hour radius of Tunkhannock," she said proudly. "We stay busy all the time. I feel like I am married to the store. I eat, drink and sleep my business."

A busy day for her store will be this Saturday for the Airing of the Quilts.

"I know people get excited about Airing of the Quilts every year and I am very excited," said Ms. Kitlan, who started the annual show in 2002. "Everyone in our town benefits from an event like this. It is a great way for the community to embrace the beauty of our town."

Ms. Kitlan first learned to sew as a young girl in the 4-H Club. Encouraged by her mother, a home economics teacher, Ms. Kitlan entered and won a "Make it Yourself with Wool" contest when she was 17. The Tunkhannock Area High School valedictorian then continued her studies at Penn State University.

She landed a job with Ivey's Department Store in North Carolina, where she worked for four years. It was not until 2001 that Ms. Kitlan went into business for herself. When she saw an ad in the newspaper that a quilt shop was for sale, she said that she knew she had to buy it.

"I was scared because I had a good job at the time but this was something I needed to do," Ms. Kitlan said.

While admitting that her work is anything but easy, Kitlan is quick to point out that she has a wonderful staff of employees and volunteers who doall they can to help the shop run smoothly.

It has proven to be a winning formula as her shop was voted one of the top 10 quilt shops in America by 'Better Homes and Garden' magazine in 2007.

"That was quite an honor," Kitlan beamed. "It was like going to the Super Bowl."

Contact the writer: pleonard@wcexaminer.comIf you go

The 11th annual Airing of the Quilts outdoor quilt show will be Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Tunkhannock.

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